Hoffenheim continues to weaken
©IMAGO
The youngsters Tom Bischof and Lennart Karl gave FC Bayern Munich a dramatic last-minute victory at the dress rehearsal for the giants’ duel in the Champions League. The German record champions won spectacularly at SC Freiburg 3-2 (0-0), overcoming a 0-2 deficit and preventing a setback in the premier class three days before the quarter-final first leg at Real Madrid.
Johan Manzambi (46th minute) and Lucas Höler (71st) scored the goals for Freiburg, which will face Celta Vigo in the first Europa League quarter-final in its history on Thursday. The guests hit back impressively with late goals from Bischof (81st/90th+2) and Karl (90th+9).
Bayern, who had to make do without their ailing striker Harry Kane, are still clearly heading for the championship in the Bundesliga. In addition, they now have 100 league goals and are therefore on the verge of breaking their own record from the 1971/72 season. Keeper Manuel Neuer made two strong saves, but didn’t look good when the score was 0-2.
The sports club narrowly missed its first win against Munich in almost eleven years in front of 34,700 spectators. Striker Höler at least gave himself a gift with the goal in his 300th competitive game for Freiburg.
Leverkusen pulls off a wild 6-3 comeback against Wolfsburg
Bayer Leverkusen ended their small crisis in results with a comeback in a wild and goal-rich game and brought VfL Wolfsburg even closer to relegation. Kasper Hjulmand’s team won 6:3 (2:3) against the second-to-last team from Lower Saxony after a 1:3 deficit. For VfL under coach Dieter Hecking, the dry spell continued in the second half of the season, while Bayer 04 regained their self-confidence at the end of the season after five competitive games without a win.
In front of 29,619 spectators in the Leverkusen Stadium, Jonas Wind gave the guests the lead (16th minute) before Alejandro Grimaldo equalized with a penalty (30th). Just a minute later, Joakim Maehle restored VfL’s lead (31′), and Christian Eriksen even increased Wolfsburg’s lead to 3-1 with the second penalty of the game (38′). Grimaldo scored a brace shortly before half-time (44′). After the break, Joker Patrik Schick scored with a penalty to make it 3-3 (53′), before Edmond Tapsoba (68′), Ibrahim Maza (73′) and Malik Tillman (90’+6) decided the game for Leverkusen.
RB Leipzig wins when Werner returns to the Weserstadion
After Ole Werner returned to the Weserstadion for the first time, his Leipzig team remained on course for the Champions League. The former promotion coach of Werder Bremen celebrated an ultimately safe 2-1 (1-0) win for RB against the relegation-threatened North Germans.
As a result, the Saxons asserted themselves in the Bundesliga ahead of their pursuers TSG Hoffenheim. In front of 40,000 spectators in the Weserstadion, Antonio Nusa (15th minute) and Rômulo (52nd) scored the goals. The 20-year-old Salim Musah (90th + 4) only scored the next goal.
The Bremen team, who have been waiting for a win against Leipzig since 2019, missed a surprising success against their feared opponents in the relegation battle – and have to continue to tremble. With a gap in the table of four points to the relegation place, which can still shrink. On Sunday FC St. Pauli plays at Union Berlin.
Things got particularly bitter at the start of the second half when Bremen defender Amos Pieper unfortunately hit the ground after a header duel during his comeback and had to be substituted.
Double pack Tietz: Hoffenheim continues to weaken
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim has suffered the next bitter setback on their hoped-for path to the Champions League. Coach Christian Ilzer’s team lost 1:2 (1:1) to 1. FSV Mainz 05. After two goals from Phillip Tietz (13th and 79th minutes), the Rheinhessen team celebrated three valuable points in the relegation battle and their sixth unbeaten game in a row.
In front of 30,150 spectators in the sold-out Sinsheim stadium, Fisnik Asllani (23rd) equalized with his ninth goal of the season. The Kraichgauers only collected five points in the last six games and only won at bottom team Heidenheim.
After an entertaining but not top-class game, Mainz head coach Urs Fischer can now look back on 15 matches with 27 points, with the Swiss only losing twice. In addition, his professionals gained further self-confidence for the quarter-final first leg in the Conference League on Thursday against Racing Strasbourg.
HSV and Augsburg miss an important step due to a draw
Hamburger SV and FC Augsburg missed a crucial step in the relegation battle. Despite being outnumbered for more than 25 minutes, Hamburg still managed to score a point in the 1-1 (0-1) draw against FCA. Arthur Chaves (22nd) put Augsburg in the lead, Ransford Königsdörffer (60th) equalized. After the red card for Miro Muheim (64th), Hamburg had to play with ten men.
Both teams are not saved by the draw, but they still have a reassuring lead over the danger zone. The man of the game in front of 57,000 spectators in the sold-out Volksparkstadion was an ex-HSVer: Augsburg’s Michael Gregoritsch corrected a foul decision by referee Deniz Aytekin on the edge of the HSV penalty area to his disadvantage.
Gladbach drops points against winless Heidenheimer
Borussia Mönchengladbach dropped very important points in the fight to stay in the league. Coach Eugen Polanski’s team couldn’t get past 2:2 (1:1) at home against bottom-placed 1. FC Heidenheim. In the table, after the competition’s games on Sunday, the lead over relegation place 16 could shrink to three points.
The Heidenheimers, on the other hand, who can no longer avoid relegation despite their second draw in a row, once again showed their morale. After Wael Mohya’s goal (16th minute) to give Gladbach the lead, Patrick Mainka (26th) and Marnon Busch (64th) turned the game around for the guests. But in front of 52,129 spectators, Gladbach attacker Franck Honorat (74th) set the final point with his goal to make it 2-2.
